Welcoming Darius Doodle!!!

[Janne and Darius]

I couldn't be more excited to introduce you all to Darius, my goldendoodle puppy. He's been with me just over a week now, and he's an absolute joy. I'll be adding to this post regularly, to document his growth and development. 

Darius, an F1 standard goldendoodle, was born August 2, 2017 of a golden retriever mum and a white standard poodle dad. She had a smaller litter of only 5 pups, and the breeder feels this litter will range from 60-80 lbs full grown. Darius, the only male and the largest of the litter, is likely going to be that 80 lb one she mentioned, but he did have one sister who was just a few ounces lighter than Darius. 

I've collected quite a few pictures of him along the way, and appreciate that I can use this space to document his growth. :)

4 days old, and his paws are still that gigantic!

4 days in scale, he was .661 kg

Here is Darius at 18 days, 1.9 kg 

26 days, 2.68 kg

5 1/2 weeks

6 weeks at his vet check and his closeup

7 weeks - various pics that show his coat and his size. Can you pick him out of the crowd? :) 

8 weeks, time to come home! 

And here he is now, at 9 weeks. Darius is a 'going concern', meaning he's pretty much always on the go unless he's sleeping. :) He's so smart and has learned the household routines very quickly. We are 'almost' potty trained (meaning basically I am potty trained and he follows my lead!), learning not to chew the leash, sits for his food dish, for toys and for pets, good in his crate and last night he actually slept til 7 am!!! (a first...we are usually up at least once in the night to go outside for potty). 

That said, he nips/bites/chews like a madman. :) We are working on it! Lately he's discovered digging in the yard as well, as much as I try to distract him...I can't exercise him all that much yet other than mentally because he hasn't had all his shots and he's not terribly leash trained yet. Vet tomorrow for second set though. Oh! And he's learned to go up stairs...just not down yet. :) 

Stay tuned, we've got lots of adventures to come. 

Darius likes to lie out on the coffee table. I know that sounds a little extreme but it's a very low table that my twin grandsons play/sit/use for colouring on as well, so it's not something precious. 

Today was our vet check and second shots/deworming! Darius is 7.3 kg now and eats 2 cups or more per day of dog food. The vet remarked on his big paws/bone structure and said he'll likely be a big boy. He was wonderful at the vet, making friends with a standard poodle, a spitz and all the staff. We had a bit of a long wait today so he occupied himself with being the WalMart greeter, making sure anyone who walked through the door felt welcomed. ;) Everyone commented on what a sweet little ball of fluff he is. 

Vet also commented that he has a poodle backend, which was interesting to me. It's not good or bad, it's just a structural thing--apparently poodles have very specific pelvic structures that are different from the golden retriever. I think they are more prominent or boney, perhaps? 

At 12 weeks, Darius is now 20 lbs and 16" at the shoulder. What a difference a month makes!

 

13 weeks, 22.4 lbs Laziest doodle ever? He is finally eating out of a bowl (at least mostly), and he reallllyyyyy likes to lie down when he eats. Changed his food over to Acana puppy and it took a good two weeks to complete the transition before he had nice solid poops (also gave him probiotics during the switch). But no more itching!

We had a big growth spurt (maybe it's the new food?...hmmmm)! At 14 weeks, Darius is now 31 lbs. He loves the snow, which settled in at the beginning of November this year. We visited a doggy daycare where he will be taking puppy obedience classes at the end of the month, and he was quite overwhelmed with all the noise and dogs there. Socialization goes better when he's introduced to one dog at a time. Still soooooooo much nipping, but I've discovered some edible chews that he tolerates well digestively speaking (he won't have anything to do with nylabones etc.) Sometimes a large cold carrot works well for him also. I've also had success with distracting him with a training session involving treats (sit, down, find it and gentle). And then there's times when nothing but a time out in his crate will do. He has a great nose and playing 'find it' is our newest fun game. Darius also loves stuffed puzzle toys. 

Those paws, though! This picture doesn't really do them justice...they are enormous! He no longer fits in his travel crate; we have a harness clipped to seatbelt in back seat system now which is working really well. 

Ok, here's a pic of his paw in mine...tough to get while he kept chomping my hand! You can see his big black nose on the left...one of his most adorable features. :) Everything is a game to him...

15 weeks, 34.2 lbs

Darius loves, loves, LOVES the snow! He would be out in it all day if I would let him...frostbite doesn't seem to be a concept that he understands, haha! The second picture is Darius with his teddy...his favourite cuddle toy. 

Darius at 16 weeks: 20" at top of shoulder, almost 40 lbs

This little guy is growing like a weed! Things have gotten a LOT better with the nipping...not that it doesn't still happen, but much less frequently. We are in full teething mode though! Leash walking is coming along...we will have several really great days but right now we're back to square one. Not sure why that happens? He grabs the leash, bounces around in circles, tries to nip my legs as I walk, etc. Good opportunity to work on "look" command but when we are outside, he's so distracted and even treats aren't that great of a motivator. 

All that adorableness...and his feet are like gigantic snowshoes! 

Week 17: It's Curtains for Darius!

41.6 lbs - but it's getting harder and harder to weigh this boy on my home scale! He's heavy and wiggly and he doesn't like it when I pick him up...I think he's afraid I may drop him. :) 

I don't know what his deal is with curtains, but he loves to hide in and behind them. I wonder if he thinks when he buries his head behind them that I can't see him? So cute!

We had our first puppy class this week, and I was really nervous! He was the biggest puppy in the class, but not the oldest. Darius did really well! He was much more interested in the other people than the other puppies, but there was another doodle (sheepadoodle) close to his size that he liked to chase and play with during free time. 

Week 18: 44.6 lbs

Teething is in full force! It has been for awhile, but today I noticed Darius finally lost his first canine tooth-hooray! All his other baby teeth (top and bottom front ones) have been replaced with adult teeth so the biting doesn't do the same kind of damage. 

Leash walking is going sooooo much better! We do a couple of 30 min walks daily...and now we both love them. :) It's not always perfect, but now I bring a stick for him when he gets the crazies (spinning around, grabbing leash, pulling at my mittens and coat) and tossing that for him is usually enough of a distraction. Haven't included a pic this week because I think I'll start adding those monthly. 

Oh and he lifted his leg to pee this week too...such a big boy, lol! I've only seen him do it once. He's shedding a fair bit...it's soft fuzzy tumbleweeds of hair that I find around the place. He's super easy to groom, no mats at all, and the funny thing is he looks pretty much as tousled after the brush/comb out as when we started. 

On the down side, he does have an issue with resource guarding only in one specific instance...any new food item I bring him to chew for teething. So no problem with a stuffed kong we use daily or food or treats or toys. Just have to remember when I bring something new/high value like a bullystick or beef ear to train him on it. What's worked is if I hold one end of it when he chews to start with, and then after he's had time to chew for awhile I give him some of his favourite treats to lure him away, pick it up, hold it until he sits for it, and give it back. It was very scary the first time I went to take it away and he growled and showed me his teeth...he wasn't kidding! I mean he has a loud bark and he does growl in play, but the body language and the tone of this was completely different. 

What I'm finding with Darius is that every day he gives me new opportunities for training. :) The hardest thing I think is training myself and managing my own mindset. Our puppy class is very much about positive training, which I really appreciate.

Week 19: 47.2 lbs

Darius has lost both his bottom canines now and I can see his top two growing in behind his baby ones, which I imagine will just be pushed out as the adult teeth emerge. I actually heard one of the bottom two drop and was able to grab it 'for the tooth faerie'. No further issues with resource guarding so far, but on the alert always. 

Leash walking has been a bit of a pain - literally - as the roller coaster that is life with Darius continues. He has taken to jumping, bouncing in circles, grabbing the lease with his teeth and tugging hard, and even jumping and nipping at my hands, jacket, boots etc, and his top baby canines tend to rip and tear things. It's been painful at times! He's not like this the whole walk, but usually at the start and then again at the end (or sometimes even in the middle.) I've tried stopping and not moving, asking for a sit/stay, ignoring..none of it seems to make a consistent dent. It's not that he doesn't get enough exercise, it seems to be more tied to mental stress, mostly when we see something new, when someone stops to talk to us, or when at the end of the walk he's been focused for a long time so now he has to let loose. Anyway, we continue on and hope this too is another thing he will grow out of. Also I wore thick leather gloves yesterday which kind of drove him crazy at first instead of woolen mittens...big improvement for me because his teeth don't snag on them or hurt my hands, and I can deal with the situation much more patiently and calmly. 

Puppy class this week was working on stay and next week is recall. He's actually great at doing whatever is asked of him even with distractions as he's so food oriented, but the trainer remarked last night that he has lots of 'teenage attitude', which I agree with completely! Seems early as he's not yet 5 months but then he's losing teeth and coat early too...so maybe he's just an early bloomer? The big draw for puppy class is actually the socialization. He loves to see his 'friends' now, and free play time for him is honestly the reason I go. It's challenging the rest of the time because the trainer does a lot of talking, and all the puppies get so restless between activities. Next week we go away for Christmas, and I'm wondering how that's going to be...twin seven year old boys, a full sized tree packed with presents, the excitement of Christmas morning. Hmmmm. I've been working on 'settle' and trying to teach him calming behaviours, but may have to crate him a little more than usual. 

Week 20: 50 lbs

All canines have been replaced with adult teeth (some just poking through) and I feel like I can even see molars in the back...surely they must be baby ones?! This boy is just filled with teenage attitude now. He is more challenging, more physical, and when I insist that he sit or down to calm, he sort of shakes his head and grumbles in a weird sounding voice before complying. It's like watching him literally 'get ahold of himself'. He accidentally discovered that he can jump up onto my bed...he surprised even himself! We were running and playing and he either had to jump onto the bed or crash into it, so he jumped. He looked so surprised...even shocked! I gave him the 'off' command and he leapt off immediately, and is back to trying to sneak up onto the bed one paw at a time at night. What a guy...

5 Months: 52 lbs

Officially at the five month mark! 

Can't turn my back on this guy for a minute! Got up and went to brush my teeth...came back to this..not only did he get up on bed but he had to snuggle up with my pillows! 

Six Months: 62 lbs

Well Darius is officially now neutered...it hasn't really calmed him down much yet. It wasn't a whole lot of fun trying to keep him quiet for 10 days and the whole cone of shame thing was pretty much a non-starter except at night when I couldn't supervise him, but we've come through with flying colours. 

Look at that nose...that face...he's so adorable! 

[Rebekah Williams]

Oh my gosh. Those paws! That face! His coat! His color! What a stunning puppy. Are you sure he's not part Great Dane? :) He looks like he's going to be a beautiful and big doodle. I can't wait to see him grow up!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Welcome Darius and Janne! Doodlekisses is a great place to learn/share about doodles. There are many groups that you can join. For example, there are groups for grooming, nutrition, health/medical, types of doodles, puppy groups etc. Enjoy! Darius is adorable.

[Janne and Darius]

Thanks for the warm welcome, Nancy! Your pups are adorable as well...what a cool pic you've created. Love it!

[Rebekah Williams]

Darius is magnificent. I love seeing him grow up. What a bear. Those paws <3

[S &amp; Charlie]

Darius is soooooooooo cute!!!!! He's definitely going to be a big boy!! I'd even guess more than 80!!

[Rebekah Williams]

Oh my gosh, I cannot believe how big Darius is!! Paws like snowshoes for sure. He's just fantastic!